Stamp-affixing apparatus.



l. L. JOHNSUN. STAMP AFFIXING llPIR/fl'lls. APPLICATION FILED 111113.12, 1913.

Patented 001. 17,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1 l. L. JOHNSUN.

STAMP AFFIXING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED AuG.12. 1913.

1,201,829. Patented out. 17,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m: Noun's cn-ns co.. mmm Lmm wAsmNnmN, n. c

l. L. JOHNSON. STAMP AmxlNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I2. |913- Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 Inl/Ellian#- zlznesses.--

...u mmm; sans ce.. Naro umu., suma nu. n. c',

N STATES arENT oFricE. j

STAMP-AFFIXING "APPARATUS,

To all whom may concern: n

Be it knowny that I, IvoR LowTHIAN olivsoN7 a. subject of the King of GreatBritain,

and resident of 3 Hare/Court,` Temple,

London, England, barristerat law, 'have invented new and useful Improvements in Stamp-Affixing Apparatusj of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to stamp aifxing apparatus of that type which feeds a stalnp from a roll by a feed mechanism engaging a row of perforations, severs it, and aflixes it to a previously damped surface, all the operations including that of damping the surfaeebeing effected by a single stroke ofa plunger.

The object of the invention is to provide improved means for carrying out the various operations and -todesign a machine simple in construction which will carry out its functions in a reliable andworkmanlike manner.V

According tomy invention the parts are operated to effect their objects inthe following manner, it being assumed that the plunger is at the top of a stroke and about to be depressed. At the iirstmovement of the plunger aprojection `which holds the damping means clear of the paper to be moistened is removed and the damping means is tilted by aspring into contact with the paper. The damping means consists of a tank containing water and fitted with al tube or tubes through which project wicks the ends of which are to be brought into Contact with the paper to be moistened. As the plunger is further depressed two operations are'simultaneously carried out. The damping means are wiped over the surface ofthe paper to the desired extent and` then tilted clear of the paper again, andthe .feeding means comprising two 'spring pressedjawsV situated above and below the stamp strip move forward picking up the perforations between two stamps and feedingforward the stamp strip through the length of one stamp. As the depression of the plunger is completed the down coming presser severs the end stamp by the cutting means which it carries, Vpresses the stamp on to the moistened surface and'- prints its face with a date or other matter.

To increase the usefulness of the machine I also supply it with the following parts (a) A supplementary feeding meanstocome into operation in case the spring pressed Specifwetion 0f Letters .Patent- 'Patented Oct. 17, 1916. Application"led August 12.1913. SeralNo. 784,339.

jaws shouldfmiss the perforations and fail to do their task. This supplementary feedking means comprises a rocking piece which initially is'held `clear of the stamp strip, but'which,if the jaws travel a very short distance Iwithout picking up the yperforations, immediately pressesv on to thestamp strip and nips the latter between itself and a plate situated on the underside of the stamp strip.- (b) A counting mechanism operated'by the strokey of the plunger to check vthe number of stamps used such as is common in this type of apparatus. (o) A pawl andratchet bar arrangement by which it is insured that every operative stroke of the plunger must start from its highest point vso that a complete stamp must be fed forward at each stroke. This also is old in this class of apparatus. As an alternative tothe pawl and ratchet' arrangement Iv may provide a means for actuating the feed forward of the stamps which will have the same effect, and also will insure that the stamp is sheared off before the machine can ybe operated by the upward stroke as will be presently described. On raising the plunger all the ,parts are restored to their original condition. The feed jaws slip back just over the neXt row'of perforations, the stamp strip being held stationary in spring pressed guides, and the dampening means is returned to its first position the projection being again in place to hold it kclear of the surface of the neXt paper or envelop to be moistened.

The actual operation of the parts will be best understood by referring to the accom- .panying drawings `in which- Figure l isla side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the part of the machine that operates the damping mechanism at a moment when the plunger has just started its descent. Fig. 3 1s a sectional elevation. Fig. 4 1s an underside plan view ofthe feeding mechanism with the bottom plate removed. Figs. 5 and 6 show in two positions the alternative actuating means referred to by which it is insured that each operative stroke of the plunger must 'start from its highest point so that a complete stamp is in 'every case fed forward.-

-Referring to Figs. 1-4, the operations of the machine are as follows: The plunger l is depressed against the spring 2 and its first action is to move the slotted lever 3 by means of the pin or bolt 4 sliding in the slot 5 to the left. This slotted lever by viry Y ture of a pivoted connection ('moves the sliding piece 7 to the left to the extentv of the length of the slots 8 in which can slide the studs 9 fixed on the sliding piece 15. The

i eect of this is to shift the shoulder l0 onv the sliding piece 7 to the left of the pin 11 whichl is formed on the water receptacle 12.

The said receptacle 12 is thereupon tilted about its fulcrum 13 by reason of the tension `of the spring 14 whichis fastened at one brought down `as shown inv Fig. 2 on to the surface to be moistened. On a further depression of the plunger, as the studs are now lat the ends of the slots S the sliding piece 7 in its further movement will carry with it the underneath sliding piece 15 which will slide the full length of its slots 18 on the studs 19 which are fixed to the main frame. During this motion the water receptacle which, as was said before, is mounted in the piece 15, will be moved to the left througha distance equal to the length of the slot 18. The damping wicks will thus be'wiped over the surface of the paper to be moistened. When, however, the pin .20 on the water receptacle meets the inclined plane 21 the'receptacle will be tilted back to its normall inclination and the pin 11 will be brought to the level of and adjacent to the bottom of'theashoulder 10. In the meanwhile, during the part of the downward motion of the plunger which-I have described as taking place subsequently to the relative movement ofthe studs 9 and slots 8,

the hinder portion of vthe sliding piece 15 has been effecting lthefeed of the stamp strip 22 which is supplied from the roll 23 mounted in the frame 23X. This it does inthe following manner :ff-The sliding piece 15 has a projection`24 into \vliicli,takes a pin 25 mounted in a carriage 26 (see Figs. Sand 4). This carriage 2G carries the feeding mechanism and can slide in slots in the frame 23 which carries the roll. The feeding mechanism comprises two toothed jaws 27 and 28 pressed together by springs 29 and 30 respectively, and adapted to take into the perfor-ations 31 between two stamps. A supplementary feeding means vconsists in a rocking piece 32 held clear of the stamp strip 22 Vat the eXtreme right end of the travel by the cross plate 33 but forced into contact with the strip by thespring 34 the 'mo-ment that it has moved sufficiently to the left to clear the plate 33'. The stamp strip is thus nipped between the rocking piece and the underneath bar 35. It will be seen that the forward feed is thus made doubly secure ,ybecause even if the jaws 27 and 2S miss a row of perforations the feeding carriage can only proceed a very short way on its journey before the rocking piece 32 comes intoy operation and effects the feed of the strip. The strip itself is fed between guidesv 36 and 37 which are spring pressed together between the plate 33 on the. one side .and the spring 38 fixed to the lower closing plate 39 on the other. The spring pressure is regulated vto permit the strip to be readilyfed forward but to hold the strip against being drawn backward .during the backward movement of the feeding mechanism.

When the plunger has been so far depressed that the bolt 4 has reached the point 40 in the slot 5 the damping mechanism and the feeding mechanism are carried no farther to the left but the presser foot 41 provided with a knife'edge 42 and type 43 .comes down upon the end stamp of the strip. The knife edge 42 coperates with the spring blade 44 to sever the stamp and the presser foot aiiiXes the stamp tothe previously moistened surface and prints with its type across the face of the stamp. An arm 45 carries an inking roller 46 which is pushed out of theway against a spring 47 by the down coming plunger, the type receiving ink during` the operation. The upward `movement of the plunger brings theslioulder 10 over the pin 11 and restores all the parts to their original position.

48 is a counting mechanism operated once every stroke of the plunger. l

49 is a pawl pivotally mounted on the .frame of the machine and given avertical tendency by the spring 50. Teeth 51. are

lformed on the edge of the sliding piece 7 to form a ratchet' bar intended to coperate `with the pawl 49. The pawl 49 having once made contact with the teeth 51, the sliding piece 7 cannot be moved in a contrary direction until the teeth are completely clear of the pawl. As a result of this the plunger having been once depressed cannot be drawn back till it has completely finished the forward feed of the stamp strip, and once raised must be raised to the top of the upward stroke before it can be depressed. As an alternative to theuse of this pawl and ratchet arrangement I may arrange my actuating lever in such a way that the same result, namely that of insuring that every operative stroke shall start from the very top so that a complete stainp is fed forward, is arrived at. This alternative will also insure that the downward stroke must be completed before themachine can be operated by the upward stroke. The modification designed for this purpose is shown in .Figs 5 and 6 of the y drawings. According to this modification 52 is the actuating lever which replaces the slotted lever 3. On this lever is formed on its inside a raised portionhaving two surfaces 53 and 54. On the depression of the plunger the stud 4 bears against the surface 53 and moves the lever to the left. When the lower portion of the surface is reached the feed is stopped and the plunger completes its downward stroke. TWhen the bottom of the stroke is reached the stud is clear of the surface 53 and the spring 56 pushes the lever over to insure that on the raising of the plunger the stud will bear up against the surface 54 and return the lever to the right. In the same way when the top of the stroke of the plunger is reached the stud is clear of the surface 54 and the spring 57 pushes the lever over again to insure that on the downward stroke of the plunger the stud will bear against the surface 53.

It will be noticed in F ig. 4 of the drawings that the base of the machine is provided with a gage as at 58. The object of this is to assist the operator in aliixing the stamp in the proper position. This is particularly important in the case of cards and the like where special squares are provided to receive each stamp. The machine is put down on the card so that the edges of the gage coincide with fixed lines or marks on the card.

The machine is constructed to come easily apart. When the bottom closing plate 39 is removed the frame 23X which carries the paper roll and feeding mechanism will slide right out when pulled in a downward direction. The tank l2 may be readily filled through a rubber tube permanently attached to it. The plate which carries the type 43 is also readily accessible for removal when the type is to be altered.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. In apparatus for aliixing to a moistened surface a stamp from a strip having a transverse series of perforations between consecutive stamps, the combination of a plunger, a

slide operated by the plunger, a moistening device operated by the slide, spring pressed jaws engaging the perforations, operated by the slide in rear of the moistening device, means for holding the stamp strip during retirement of the spring pressed jaws to obtain a fresh grip, and means carried by the plunger for severing and aflixmg the ustamp to the moistenedI surface.

2. In apparatus for aliixing to a moistened surface a stamp from a strip having a transverse series of perforations between consecutive stamps, feeding jaws arranged to grip the strip through a series of perforations, an auxiliary feed device arranged to grip the strip independently of the said jaws, suitable means for moistening the surface to which the stamp is to be affixed and means for moving the said jaws and auxiliary feed device to feed the strip to the moistened surface.

3. In apparatus for afixing to a moistened surface a stamp from a stamp strip, means for moistening the surface to which the stamp is tobe aflixed, means for feeding the strip to the moistened surface, an operating plunger and a sliding part under the control of the plunger and serving as an actuating element common to both the feeding means and the moistening means, whereby the feeding and moistening means are positively prevented from interfering the one with the other.

4. In apparatus for affixing to a moistened surface a stamp from a stamp strip, a reciprocating operating'plunger, a feeding means for advancing a stamp strip into position to be affixed and severed, and means for moistening the surface to which the stamp is to be afhxed, the said plunger being so arranged that it will be inoperative during any return movement thereof occurring after it has begun its movement in either direction and before the movement in that direction is full and complete, whereby a complete feeding movement of the strip is insured when once the feed is begun.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IVOR L. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

H. D. JAMESON, ALFRED D. BISHOP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for iive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

